India will Explore Indigenous Phosphatic Rock Deposits

At present, we rely on other countries for raw materials to manufacture DAP (Di-ammonium Phosphate) and SSP (Single Superphosphate). India must reduce its reliance on imports.

To accomplish this goal, India must explore indigenous deposits of phosphoric rock and potash and make them available to indigenous industries.

Rock phosphate is an important raw material in the production of DAP and NPK fertilisers.

Currently, India relies on imports for 90% of its raw materials.

International price fluctuations affect domestic fertilizer prices.

PDS 70 – Lunar Formation Around a Planet

For the first time, scientists have discovered a lunar formation around a planet outside https://exam.pscnotes.com/the-solar-system”>The Solar System-a Jupiter-like world surrounded by a disk of gas and dust large enough to produce three moons, the size of which is equivalent to one orbiting the earth.

Highlights:

The ALMA observatory in Chile’s Atacama desert was used to detect a disc of swirling material accumulating around one of two newborn planets seen orbiting PDS 70, a young star located 370 Light years from Earth.

A light year is the distance that light travels in a year, which is approximately 9.5 trillion kilometres.

Exoplanets, which are planets found outside our solar system, number over 4,400. Until now, no orbiting planetary disks have been discovered, because all known exoplanets are located in the “mature”-fully developed-solar system, except for the two baby gas planets orbiting PDS 70.

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National highway network grew 59% in 9 years: Union minister Gadkari

Indias national highway (NH) Network has increased by 59% in the past nine years to touch 1. 49 lakh km and nearly one-third of the NHs are four lane or more compared to 20% in 2014, Unionroad transportand highways minister

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Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. The government also has set the target not to have a single NH that is less than two lanes by 2030.

The government said the high pace of road construction, including the NHs, in the past nine years has put India in position to have the second largest road network after the United States. The current road network of India isaround 64 lakh km, which includes NHs, state highways, municipal and rural roads, both paved and unpaved.

As per the governments Basic Road Statistics report of 2018-19, India has a road network of 63. 32 lakh km on March 31, 2019, which was the second largest in the world after the US (66. 46 lakh km). Sources said the government is working on the plan to expand the NH network to 1. 85 lakh km by 2030 and 2. 37 lakh km by 2047 and the target is to see that nearly two-third of the NH network is four lane and above for faster movement of peopleand cargo.

Cabinet nod to set up National Research Foundation to boost R&D

The government approved a bill to set up theNational Research Foundation, a new funding agency to bolster the country’s research competence, Union minister Anurag Thakur said.

He said theNational Research Foundation Billwill be brought inParliamentand the Science and Engineering Research Board Act, 2008 will be repealed.

The NRF will be governed by a governing board consisting of 15 to 25 eminent researchers and professionals. The governing board will be headed by the prime minister, he noted.

147 startups could turn unicorns soon: Study

Indias future unicorns are currently worth $57 billion, according to research by Hurun Research Institute. It has identified 147 startups that could turn unicorns soon. Out of these, 30 are headquartered overseas, most of them in the US, but operate largely out of India.

The research firm said that these potential unicorns come from 25 cities and, on Average, are about eight years old. Bengaluru was the leader with 53 future unicorns headquartered there. With a cumulative valuation of $19.9 billion, Bengaluru serves as the Home to 12 Gazelles and 41 Cheetahs. The institute defines a Gazelle as a startup that would become a unicorn in the next three years. Cheetahs are startups that would become unicorns in the next five years. As many as 70% of the total future unicorns in the Hurun index are from Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR.

The report said the vast majority are selling Software &

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href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/services">Services, and only 20% are selling physical products. About 37% are selling to businesses, while 63% are consumer-facing. Future unicorns were seen disrupting financial services, healthcare, business management solutions and Education, Hurun said in its report.

Hurun has noted thate-commerceand fintech lead the pack, with 21 startups each, followed closely by SaaS with 20. Together, fintech, E-Commerce, SaaS, healthtech, AI and consumer goods make up more than half of the featured companies in the index.

China on course to achieve 5% economic growth target in 2023: premier

China is on course to achieve its five percent target foreconomic growthin 2023 set by Beijing earlier this year, premier Li Qiang said.

China

is grappling with a slowing post-Covid recovery, with a number of lacklustre indicators in recent weeks signalling the rebound is running out of steam.

Beijing’s central bank last week cut two key interest rates in a bid to counter the slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

Reports this month have suggested Beijing is lining up a tranche of measures targeting multiple areas of the economy, particularly the real estate sector, which makes up a huge portion ofgross domestic product.

Indias gig workforce will grow to 2.35 crore by 2029-30: Niti Aayog study

Thegovernments policy think tank has recommended that measures should be taken to provide for social security, including paid leave, occupational disease and work accident Insurance, support during irregularity of work and pension plans, for thegig workforce in the country, which is expected togrow to 2.35 crore by 2029-30.

According to the study released by Niti Aayog on Monday, the number of workers engaged in the gig economy is estimated to be 77 lakh in 2020-21.

It added that platform workers are termed as independent contractors and as a result, they cannot access many aspects of workplace protection, and entitlements.

The report broadly classifies gig workers those engaged in livelihoods outside the traditional employer-employee arrangement into platform and non-platform-based workers. While platform workers are those whose work is

based on online Software apps or digital platforms, non-platform gig workers are generally casual wage workers and own-account workers in the conventional sectors, working part-time or full time.

While in 2020-21, the gig workforce constituted 2.6% of the non-agricultural workforce or 1.5% of the total workforce in India, by 2029-30, gig workers are expected to form 6.7% of the non-agricultural workforce or 4.1% of the total livelihood workforce in India, the study added.

Indias GSAT-24 satellite launched on French rocket

India launched its GSAT-24 satellite, that has been built by ISRO for NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).

GSAT-24 satellite was launched on Ariane 5 space launch vehicle, by French company Arianespace.

It was launched from Kourou in French Guiana, in South America.

GSAT-24 is a 24-Ku band Communication satellite. It weighs 4180 kg. The satellite will provide coverage to pan-India, to meet DTH application needs.

The GSAT-24 satellite was launched on French rocket Ariane 5, because currently India does not have space-launch rocket which can lift a satellite weighing over 4 tons into geostationary orbit. Indias most powerful rocket GSLV MK3 is capable of lifting a maximum of 4 tons into geostationary orbit. It is not enough

to life a satellite over 4 ton like GSAT-24.

Critical Information Infrastructure

In a notification issued on June 16, 2022, the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has declared IT Resources of HDFC bank, ICICI Bank, and NPCI as critical information (CII).

According to Information Technology Act of 2000, Critical Information Infrastructure is a computer resource. Incapacitation or destruction of such resource have debilitating impact on national security, public Health, economy, or public safety.

Under the IT Act 2000, the Union Government has the power to declare any data, IT Network, Database, or communications infrastructure as Critical Information Infrastructure, in order to protect that digital asset. In case, any person who secures access or tries to secure access to protected system, can be put behind the bars for up to 10 years.

In India, CIIs are protected through a nodal agency National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC). NCIIPC was created in January 2014. It is the nodal agency to take allmeasures for protecting CIIs.

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Zuljanah: Irans Solid-fuelled Rocket

Zuljanah is a 25.5-meter-long, Iranian Satellite Launch Vehicle.

It is capable of carrying a payload or satellite of 220 kilogram, into the orbit situated at 500 kilometres above the Earth.

This satellite will gather data in low-earth orbit as well as promote Irans space .

This rocket has been named for Imam Husseins horse, who was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

It is the first indigenously designed and indigenously manufactured hybrid fuel

satellite launch vehicle.

It is the third civilian Satellite Launch Vehicle, developed in Iran, after Safir and Simorgh.This road mobile needs very little fuelling time.

It can be launched by Transporter-Erector Launchers (TELs).